Cotton picking spindle moistening assembly



' May. 5, 1959 v ETAL I 2,884,754

coTToN PICKING SPINDLE MOISTENING ASSEMBLY File d April 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS tfamefi H 502" in CGTTON PICKING 'SPINDIZE MOI STENIN G ASSEMBLY ."James H. Bornzin, La Grange, 11L, and James E. Sadler and RobertM. Fachini, Memphis, Tenn, assignors to International Harvester Company, a corporation or ,New Jersey -Application April 5, 1956, Serial No."576,373 8'Claims. '(Cl.5641) This invention relates to a fluid distributing device and more specifically to a device for applyingmoistening fluidsuch'as water to the spindles of a cotton'pick- 'ing machine.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel distributor which operates with no moving parts and which is simple and economical to manufacture.

A further object of theinvention is to provide a novel distributing system which comprises a distributing head having a conical water droplet splitter which has a pointed upper end onto which drops of water are adapted to be deposited and split to flow into a series of grooves onthe periphery of the conical member, the grooves communicating attheir lower ends with individual ducts provided in a vertical supporting column structure which carries a series of vertically'spaced distributors which are arranged on the order'of the layers of spindles-with which the same are adapted to cooperate.

The invention contemplates the'provision of a novel distributor head such as above specified wherein the conical upper tip functions to doughnut drops of water to 'form an encircling ring which is segmented into small particles'by cleavage members disposed along opposite sides of grooves formed in the periphery of the conical member.

A further object of theinvention is to. provide =a-novel lluid channeling structure comprising a tubular outer shell and an internal core which is provided withextei'nal grooves, the core being formed of compressible cooperating to form a series of fluid ducts between the distributor head and the moisteners.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the specification and the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a'typical cotton picker construction embody- .ing the improved distributor;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view,'0n an enlarged scale taken substantially along theline 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a further transverse sectional'view on'a reduced scale taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is an enlargedpartial vertical sectional view as seen "on the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is airagmentary side elevational view of the center core on the scale ofli'igure ,3;

Figure 7 is-ajfragmentary perspective view with parts broken away and v shown in section;

Figures 8,9 and are enlargedsectional views or the center core taken .,s,ub stantially on the lines ,8-.8 9-9 and1'0-10, respectively, of Figure .6;

2,884,754 latented May 5, 9

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The cotton picker is generally designated 2 and comprises a cotton'picker unit including a drum 3 which comprises a plurality of vertical spindle carrying bars 4 within" which is supported a driving mechanism '5 for driving a'series of vertically spaced spindles 6 which are carried by-thecolumn- 4 as is Well-known'in the art. There may be any desired number of spindles carried by each column, although the industry has presently standardized a low drum construction of fourteen spin- .dles high and a high drum of twenty spindles high.

The housing in which the picker drum or mechanism 3 is carried comprises an upper plate -8 and a-lower plate 9. These plates'suitably support therebetween an upright distributor assembly generally designated 10.

The distributor comprises a vertical series of identical moistener elements 11 equal in number to the layers of'spindles '6. Each branch element 11 comprises top and bottom sheet metal portions 12 and 13 whichat their distal ends are'provided with generally square fiat plate mounting portions 14 and 15 disposed in face to face'relation at 16 and welded to each other and providing a mounting for a moistener 'pad 17 whichis formed of elastomer material such as rubber'andhas an upper C-shaped flange .or shoulder '18'overlying the top side 19 ofthe upper plate portion 14. The'flange 18 merges with an" upstanding peripheral flange 20 formed integral with the bodyportion'21 of'the mounting pad, the'flange 20 seating'along the outer margins as at 22 of the mounting plate portions 14 and 15 and defining with the flange 18 and 'the body portion "21 a groove for receiving the outer edges of the mounting plate portions 14 and 15. The pad is formed'with a cavity 23 on the upper side of the body portion 21, the cavity 23 communicating with a plurality of distributing holes orports 24 which open downwardly between-the ribs or fingers 25 which depend downwardly'from the body portion 21 formedintegral therewith and adapted for flexible yieldable' wiping contact with the associated'spindle 6.

"The'cavity23 communicates with'a passage 26 which communicates with a passage or a duct .27 provided in the neck portion, generally indicated 28, of the distributor elementll, the duct 27 being formed by an upwardly oifset channel structure 29 formedin the neck portion of the upper part 12 and a closing section 30of the lowerpart. The inner extremity of the portion 30 is offset downwardly to'provide a channel structure 31 which'with the upper portion 29 forms a cylindrical tubular end portion 32which is'welded or brazed or otherwise securedsabout its periphery as at 33 to a vertical main tube or :shell 34 and communicating with a passage or an aperture 35 in the shell. It will be seen that the neck portion is formed with upwardly extending gussets 36 and 37 which flank and are turned upfrom the lateral edges of the upper portion 29, the inner ends of thegussets36 and 37 being welded or otherwise secured as by brazing as at 38 and 39, respectively, to the outer periphery 49 of the shell or sheath 34. Similarly, thelower portion Stlis provided with lateral downturned or depending flanges 41, 42 which are weldedor. other wise secured as byibrazing or soldering as at 43, v44 to the outer side.40.of the shell 34.

It will ,be noted that the openings 35, whichmay be termed as dischargeopenings in the shell 34,v are vertically aligned and that the ,branchesll are disposed in ver-tica1 alignment with each other and spaced from each other on the order of the spacing of the layers of the spindle 6.

The moistener stand generally designated 45 essentially comprises the shell 34 and a core 46, the core being formed of deformable elastic material which is of natural rubber or rubber-like in character. The core 46 has its outer periphery 47 tightly engaging the cylindrical inner side 48 of the tubular shell member 34. It will be under stood that although a cylindrical member is shown, the shell 34 may be of any other tubular shape and the counterpart interior core would, of course, conform to the shape of the shell.

The core 46 extends from adjacent the upper end 50 of the shell to adjacent lower end 51 thereof and is thereof supported on plate 9. The core is preferably hollow and generally cylindrical in shape having a central opening 52 in order to cheapen the structure and to increase its flexibility. However, it will be understood that the opening 52 may be eliminated if desired.

The outer periphery of the core member 46 is formed with a plurality of grooves 53 of a number equal to the number of distributors, which in the present instance are fourteen. Each groove 53 comprises a vertical portion 54 and a bottom lateral portion 55, the portions terminating in outlets 56 which are in vertical alignment and each communicating with a related discharge opening 35 at that level. It will be observed that the core 46 is pulled through the shell from one end thereof and is so positioned so that the extremities 56 line up with the discharge openings 35. It will also be noted that successive grooves circumferentially of the core have their laterals preferably alternating vertically but this construction is preclusive of other designs and, of course, the grooves may be spiraled or in any other way arranged so that the lower or discharge extremities 56 line up with the respective opening 35. Thus it will be seen that each groove and with the opposing portion of the shell 34 forms a continuous duct which has a lower discharge terminus and an upper intake.

The upper end 50 of the shell 34 receives a distributor head generally indicated 60, said head being preferably formed of bronze metal but may be made of plastic or any other suitable material as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The head has a lower end positioning portion 61 which fits into the center opening 52 of the core 46 and which has a flat side 61 (Figure 3) in engagement with a flat surface 62 in the bore 52 whereby the head and the core are aligned in a predetermined manner. The head 60 has a conical body part 62' which terminates in an upper sharp point 63, the pointed end fitting into a metering port 64 which has a flared lower end 65 approximating the periphery 66 of the upper pointed end of the cone. It will be noted that the port 64 is formed in a barrel 65 which is connected to a reservoir conduit 66 which is adapted to be connected to a reservoir 67 carried by an associated support structure such as a tractor or self-propelled vehicle or another mobile support. The barrel 65 is centered on the shell 34 by means of a cap structure 69 which may be press-fitted or threaded as at 70 to the upper end 50 of the shell, said barrel 65 having a lower cylindrical portion 71 provided with external threads 72 in threaded engagement with internal threads 73 at the upper end of the cap and by means of these threads, the barrel being adjustable vertically in order to adjust the metering between the surface 65 and the lower end of the metering port and the opposing surface 66 of the cone by raising or lowering the barrel. It will be seen that the barrel has an internal cylindrical chamber 75 which closely engages the outer edges 76 of cleavage or splitting elements 77 which are formed on the fins 78 which project outwardly from the cone 62'. The fins 78 have upper ends 79 which terminate immediately below the tip end 64 and the lower ends of the fins terminate at the base 80 of the cone. Adjacent fins 78 define vertical grooves 81 of equal number with the channels 54 and at their lower ends communicate with the respective channels, so that there is one groove 81 for each channel 54.

It will be noted that in operation the fluid is introduced from the reservoir 67 to the metering head 60 via the conduit 66', the conduit 66' having a valve 82 incorporated therein. The fluid passes into the metering port 64, which is vertically disposed, and drop by drop feeds onto the pointed end 63 of the metering head. The end 63 pierces each drop and doughnuts the same to form ringlets of fluid. These ringlets of fluid gravitate downwardly and are split up or segmented by the fin 79 and if the fluid has particularly strong molecular capillary attraction then the ring flows down over the sharp upper edges 83 of the cleavage members and is broken up so that the water is evenly distributed to flow through each groove 81 downwardly. It will be noted that cleavage members 77 are located intermediate the top and bottom extremities of the body portion 62' of the distributor head and terminate, remote from the body in sharp upwardly directed points 85 along the edges 76 thereof which are engaged by the internal surface of the chamber 75. Thus a positive means is provided for breaking up or segmenting the water ringlets which prevents the water from bridging over the fins because of capillary action. The water is thus uniformly distributed around the cone and flows at a substantially uniform rate to the respective distributors 11, the water flowing from the vertical portions 54 through the lateral portions 55 out of the discharge extremities 56 into the ports 35 and from there into the ducts .27 and into the chambers 23 and from thence into the discharge orifices 24 and along the comb-like ends 25 for brushing action along the respective layers of spindles 6.

What is claimed is:

1. In a moistener for a cotton picker comprising a stand having an upright rigid tubular element with an internal periphery, a core of elastomer material under compression within said element and having an outer periphery in fluid-tight engagement with said internal periphery of said element, said core having a plurality of circumferentially spaced axially extending grooves in its said periphery and terminating at one end in inlets for fluid from associated metering means and at their other ends terminating in vertically aligned axially spaced outlets, said element having a plurality of openings in registry and communication with respective outlets and distributor elements connected to said element and spaced vertically on the order of said outlets and communicating therewith.

2. In a cotton picker lmoistener conduit structure, a pair of telescoping inner and outer members, one of said members being of rubber-like material and stressed transaxially of said members and in fluid-tight engagement with the other member, at least one of said members having a peripheral groove and the other member having a peripheral surface overlapping the groove and developing a tubular conduit passage therewith with an inlet at one end and said outer member having an outlet opening communicating with the groove for connection to associated distributing means.

3. In a moistener stand for a cotton picker, an upright cylindrical tube, a core telescoped within said tube and being of elastomer material having circumferentially spaced first peripheral axially elongated grooves terminating in inlet openings at the upper end of the core, metering means supported on the stand for delivering fluid to all of said inlet openings, and said core having second peripheral circumferentially elongated groove portions extending from each of said first portions and each terminating in an outlet terminus in substantially vertical alignment with each other, and said tube having openings in registry with each outlet terminus for associated distributor apparatus.

4. The invention according to claim 3 and said metering means comprising a head including a conical member heated on said core and having a metering groove for each inlet and communicating therewith, and means on said head and core for aligning the same.

5. A moistener for a cotton picker having an upright stand including a tubular outer element, a vertical series of 'distributor assemblies connected to said element and having conduit means communicating through openings in said element with the interior thereof, a flexible inner element under compression within the outer element, said inner element having a series of peripheral grooves, one for each distributor assembly, and communicating therewith through the respective opening and conduit, said grooves closed on their outer sides by said outer element and each groove extending upwardly and having an upper inlet, and means communicative with said grooves for metering fluid into the inlets of said grooves.

6. The invention according to claim 5 and said lastmentioned means comprising a metering head seated upon said inner element and comprising a cone having a pointed upper end and peripheral slots, one for each groove and communicating therewith.

7. The invention according to claim 6 and said lastmentioned means further including a valve member superposed with respect to said metering head and having a fluid port centered on said upper end of the cone and receiving the same therein.

8. In a moistener, a pair of inner and outer telescoping members, one of said members having peripheral grooves and the other member having an opposing peripheral surface cooperating with the grooves to form ducts having inlet ends for receiving fluid from an associated source, said outer member having a series of axially spaced discharge openings communicating with the respective of the ducts, and ldistributor assemblies mounted on said outer member in alignment with said discharge openings for receiving fluid therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,059,626 McAllister Apr. 22, 1913 2,280,140 Wilson Apr. 21, 1942 2,369,708 Baker et a1 Feb. 20, 1945 2,373,099 Burk Apr. 10, 1945 2,433,083 Baker et al. Dec. 23, 1947 2,624,366 Pugh Jan. 3, 1953 2,654,204 Grosvenor Oct. 6, 1953 2,771,092 Schenk Nov. 20, 1956 

